NCAR pioneer Will Kellogg,
1917–2007

Former senior scientist and NCAR associate director William
Kellogg, 90, died on December 12 in Boulder.

Will was central to the fields of both satellite meteorology
and climate change. He was a leader in his profession, serving
as president of the American Meteorological Society (1973)
and on countless professional committees and boards. He was
also a fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American
Association for the Advancement of Science.

Colleagues remember him as thoughtful and visionary. “His
door was always open,” recalls Mickey Glantz (SERE/CCB),
adding that Will was a mentor to generations of postdoctoral
researchers and graduate students.

Will was born in 1917 in New York Mills, New York, and attended
Yale University. When his graduate studies at the University
of California, Berkeley, were interrupted by World War II,
he served in the U.S. Air Force’s new meteorological
program. A pilot and weather officer with a passion for flying,
he performed groundbreaking research on the dynamics of thunderstorms.

While working on a doctorate at the University of California,
Los Angeles, Will began his career at the Rand Corporation,
where he was instrumental in establishing the potential value
of satellites in meteorological research. He chaired the
committee that set the specifications for TIROS-1, the first
operational weather satellite. In a 1951 study for Rand coauthored
with Stanley Greenfield, he demonstrated that satellite images
would provide information not only on broad-scale synoptic
weather patterns but also on variables such as wind direction,
degree of atmospheric stability, and horizontal and vertical
wind shear.

Will came to NCAR in 1964, retiring in 1987. Over the years,
he served as director of the Laboratory of Atmospheric Sciences,
a predecessor of CGD. He was also part of the Environmental
and Societal Impacts Group, which paved the way for SERE
and ISSE.

An early interest in climate theory led Will to ponder how
humans might have begun changing Earth’s climate. He
was a chief organizer of the international Study of Man’s
Impact on Climate, held in Sweden in 1971. As debate grew
about the planet’s future, he published and lectured
frequently on the topic, advocating strenuously to educate
the world about climate change. He ­particularly enjoyed
giving talks to
the nonscientific public.

“Will was a wonderful colleague and contributor to
NCAR and he will be much missed,” says NCAR director
Tim Killeen. “Over the past several years, I had a
chance to get to know him and appreciate both the twinkle
in his eye and his kind and supportive attitude.”

Will is survived by his wife, Elizabeth, and five children
and their families: Karl Kellogg and his wife Nancy Kellogg
of Boulder, Judith Kellogg and husband Bruce Liebert of Honolulu,
Joe Kellogg and wife Lauren McCalley of Lafayette, Jane Kellogg
and husband John Cowdry of Lyons, and Tom Kellogg and wife
Margaret Kellogg of Louisville. He has eight grandchildren
and one great-granddaughter.•